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She was also consulted on medicine, for nobody knew more home remedies. “A person would become ill and would be prescribed something, and it would benefit, and I would hear the people prescribing for each other, and I would memorise it all.”<ref>Ahmad, ''Musnad'' 6:67; Al-Hakim, ''Mustadrak'' 4:11.</ref> For example, Muhammad had always treated her fevers with broth.<ref>[http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/28/ Tirmidhi 4:28:2173].</ref> She used to recommend ''talbina'', a gruel of barley-flour, milk and honey, for a depressed mood, even though patients disliked it.<ref>{{Bukhari|7|71|593}}; {{Bukhari|7|71|594}}.</ref> | She was also consulted on medicine, for nobody knew more home remedies. “A person would become ill and would be prescribed something, and it would benefit, and I would hear the people prescribing for each other, and I would memorise it all.”<ref>Ahmad, ''Musnad'' 6:67; Al-Hakim, ''Mustadrak'' 4:11.</ref> For example, Muhammad had always treated her fevers with broth.<ref>[http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/28/ Tirmidhi 4:28:2173].</ref> She used to recommend ''talbina'', a gruel of barley-flour, milk and honey, for a depressed mood, even though patients disliked it.<ref>{{Bukhari|7|71|593}}; {{Bukhari|7|71|594}}.</ref> | ||
===Abu Bakr and Umar=== | |||
Islamo-apologists like to emphasise Aisha’s public life. They describe her as “a political activist”<ref>[http://hibamagazine.com/tag/aisha-bint-abu-bakr/ Omar, K. “Ummul-Mumineen – Aisha (rta)” in ''Liba''].</ref> and refer to her “predominant role in government”<ref>[http://www.australianmuslimwomen.org.au/1/post/2012/03/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit.html/ “Legacy of Great Muslim Women Leaders”] in ''Australian Muslim Women’s Association''.</ref> However, such remarks tend to confuse the ''public'' sphere with the ''professional'', perhaps betraying the reality that, historically speaking, most Muslim women have been excluded from both. Aisha was unquestionably a working professional; she influenced people who came to her voluntarily for teaching about Islam; but outside of her profession, there are few concrete examples of her political activity. She never bore an office of state. There is no evidence that she was ever consulted about policy. If she chose to speak out, she was not always heeded. It would be closer to the truth to state that Aisha was a minor political figure who ''occasionally'' influenced politics. | |||
For the first two years after Muhammad’s death, Abu Bakr was the Caliph (leader) of the Islamic state.<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 184}}.</ref> The Arab tribes who did not want to pay tax immediately apostasised from Islam,<ref>{{Muslim|1|29}}.</ref> and “the whole of Central Arabia [was] either in open apostasy or ready to break away on the first demand of tithe.”<ref>[http://answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Caliphate/chap3.htm/ Muir, W. (1924). ''The Caliphate: its Rise, Decline and Fall from Original Sources'', 2nd Ed., p. 12]. Edinburgh: John Grant.</ref> Aisha recalled, “If what fell upon my father had fallen upon the solid mountains, it would have crushed them,”<ref>Jarrett/Suyuti, pp. 73-74.</ref> but Abu Bakr determined to fight the apostates until they re-submitted and paid every ''dirham'' “down to the last camel’s halter.”<ref>{{Muslim|1|29}}.</ref> Aisha played no visible role while her father “crushed Apostasy and laid secure the foundations of Islam.”<ref>[http://answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Caliphate/chap11.htm/ Muir (1924), p. 81]. Abu Bakr died of a fever in August 634<ref>{{Tabari|11|p.129}}.</ref> and was also buried in Aisha’s house.<ref>Jarrett/Suyuti p. 86.]</ref> It was only a few months since Aisha had lost her brother Abdullah, who died of battle-wounds,<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 591; Bewley/Saad 8:187.</ref> and her grandmother Umm al-Khayr;<ref>Ibn Hajar, ''Al-Isaba'' Vol. 4.</ref> her grandfather Abu Quhafa died a few months later at the age of 95.<ref>Jarrett/Suyuti p. 87.</ref> | |||
Umar succeeded Abu Bakr as caliph.<ref>{{Tabari|11|pp. 145-147, 513}}; {{Tabari}15}p. 4}}.</ref> His reign was devoted to conquest. He sent his armies to Mesopotamia, Syria, Jordan, Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Persia, much of Byzantium, parts of Afghanistan, Egypt, Mauritania and Morocco, and subjected them all to Islam.<ref>Jarrett/Suyuti pp. 135-137.</ref> “He directed the government with the most complete success and victories were numerous during his time.”<ref>Jarrett/Suyuti p. 135.</ref> “‘Omar began his reign master only of Arabia. He died the Caliph of an Empire.”<ref>[http://answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Caliphate/chap26.htm/ Muir (1924), p. 190].</ref> This expansionist policy did not require assistance from Aisha or any other woman, and there is no record that Aisha had anything to do with any of it. Umar liked women to sit behind curtains where men could not see them.<ref>{{Bukhari|7|60|318}}; {{Muslim|26|5395}}; {{Muslim|26|5396}}.</ref> He did not like them to contribute ideas.<ref>E.g., {{Bukhari|7|62|119}}: “I shouted at my wife and she retorted against me and I disliked that she should answer me back.”</ref> | |||
Within these limits, and when it did not cost him much, Umar showed respect to Muhammad’s widows. His own daughter was one of them,<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918.</ref> yet he paid particular recognition to Aisha. He once distributed 10,000 ''dirhams'' (about £50,000) to each widow, but he gave 12,000 (£60,000) to Aisha because “she was the beloved of Allah’s Messenger.”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:48.</ref> When Umar wanted to marry Aisha’s five-year-old sister, Aisha withheld consent: “You are rough and ready … How will it be with her if she disobeys you in any matter and you beat her?”<ref>{{Tabari|14|p. 102}}.</ref> Umar, who was 58, did not press the point and instead married the nine-year-old daughter of Ali.<ref>{{Tabari|13|p. 109}}. Both girls were named Umm Kulthum, which has caused some confusion for historians.</ref> At about the same time, he enlarged the mosque, commensurate with the increase of the crowds who converged on Medina to work and worship.<ref>Jarrett/Suyuti, p. 136.</ref> It is not detailed what difference these crowds, and their larger buildings, might have made to Aisha’s living conditions. | |||
But Aisha had no power to prevent anything that Umar really wanted. When Abu Bakr died, a woman came to her house to weep for him and, since women were not allowed to weep for the dead, Umar ordered her outside. Aisha tried to support the woman’s desire to grieve by forbidding anyone to enter, but her orders were ignored. A man pushed his way into her house and brought the woman out, and Umar whipped her.<ref>{{Tabari|11|pp. 137-138}}.</ref> | |||
Umar was assassinated by a disaffected slave in October 644.<ref>{{Tabari|14|pp. 90, 95}}.</ref> He petitioned to be buried beside Muhammad and Abu Bakr. Although Aisha had assumed that this burial spot would be hers, she conceded, “Today I prefer Umar to myself.”<ref>{{Bukhari|2|23|475}}.</ref> With Umar in her house, even though he was dead, Aisha did not like to expose her face. “I never took my veil off and used to stay wrapped up in clothes”<ref></ref> until she could have a wall built to section off the three tombs. Thereafter she never entered the tomb-room unveiled.<ref></ref> The new wall must have reduced her usable living space to half. | |||
Aisha said that it did not matter in which order the ''suras'' of the Qur’an were arranged, but she could, on request, recite them in chronological order.<ref>{{Bukhari|6|61|515}}.</ref> Whenever she recited, “Women, remain in your houses,”<ref>{{Quran|33|33}}.</ref> she wept until her veil was soaked.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:56.</ref> | Aisha said that it did not matter in which order the ''suras'' of the Qur’an were arranged, but she could, on request, recite them in chronological order.<ref>{{Bukhari|6|61|515}}.</ref> Whenever she recited, “Women, remain in your houses,”<ref>{{Quran|33|33}}.</ref> she wept until her veil was soaked.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:56.</ref> | ||